Roman Empire Not Destroyed by Plague After All, Say Historians
No evidence found to support the narrative that the Justinianic plague killed up to half the population in the sixth century, ushering in the Dark Ages
Archaeology
World’s Oldest Surviving Chess Piece Unearthed in Jordan
The strange figurine isn’t a tiny altar, it’s a rook and demonstrates a stage in the evolution of the chess castle from a Persian chariot, archaeologist says
Did Prehistoric Puerto Ricans Make Clam Chowder?
Not finding cooking technology from 2,500 years ago, archaeologists tap isotope analysis to investigate how exactly the pre-Colombian people of Puerto Rico prepared their shellfish
After Two Thousand Years, Jesus' Manger Returns to Bethlehem in Time for Christmas
The Vatican has decided to send a piece of the Holy Manger, in which the faithful believe baby Jesus slept, back to its home in the Holy Land
Massive Mamluk Destruction Found at Crusader Castle in Israel
Debris layer discovered at Montfort Castle in the northern Galilee is first evidence of Sultan Baybars' Muslim campaign in 1266, archaeologists say
Prehistoric Gestalt: Earliest Example of Visual Illusion Found in Israel
Nested arcs engraved on a bone and a stone 53,000 years ago at Quneitra create the impression of continuous lines, whole circles and balance where none exist, the archaeologists say
Archaeologists in Egypt Unearth Large Mummy Thought to Be a Lion
Rare discovery of the large animal found near the famed Step Pyramid south of Cairo
Prehistoric Superglue May Reveal Experiments 200,000 Years Ago
Tar made of birch bark was their best option for gluing handles to axes and tools: coincidence or Neanderthal research?
Analysis If It Quacks Like a Homo Sapiens
Are eagle talons forever? On 'Neanderthal necklaces' and confusion about our prehistoric cousins and ourselves
Remains of Hybrid Neanderthal-sapiens Population Found in Israel
Teeth found in Manot Cave, in the Western Galilee, likely belonged to humans who returned to the Levant from Europe 40,000 years ago – after interbreeding there with Neanderthals
Did We Sicken Neanderthals to Death?
Modern humans and Neanderthals mixed and matched but they died out and we didn’t: Maybe we didn’t outsmart them, just sneezed on them
Eagle Thumb-bone With Cut Marks Discovered in Spain Supports Neanderthal Symbolic Culture
Talon in 39,000-year-old site in Spain seems to continue practice from the Middle Stone Age, indicating cultural continuity and supporting the thesis of Neanderthal symbolic ability
1,400-year-old Byzantine Hammer and Nails Discovered in Ancient Jewish Village of Usha
Smelting waste found in the village of Usha, where the Sanhedrin sat after the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, indicates local ironworking
Ancient Church Dedicated to Mysterious Martyr Found Near Jerusalem
Israeli archaeologists uncover stunning mosaics and glass windows but remain stumped by identity of the ‘glorious martyr’ to whom the 6th-century basilica was dedicated
Monumental Jerusalem Street Was Built by Pontius Pilate, Israeli Archaeologists Say
The ancient 'Herodian street,' whose recent reopening by right-wing politicians and U.S. envoys stirred controversy, was commissioned by the Roman governor hated by Jews and Christians alike
DNA Research Holds the Keys to Human History – but It's Being Weaponized by Politicians
As Netanyahu’s attempt to link the Philistines to the Palestinians show, DNA analysis of ancient humans is being harnessed for political purposes
Egypt Reveals Biggest Ancient Coffin Find in Over a Century
30 coffins dating back to the 10th century BC had been collected and hidden by a priest for fear of being looted
A Chance Discovery Changes Everything We Know About Biblical Israel
The discovery of a powerful nomad kingdom in Israel's Arava desert upends our notion of the role of archaeology in understanding Ancient Israel
Comrade Trilobites Marched in Tandem 480 Million Years Ago
Arthropods from ants to lobsters migrate in orderly fashion but the emergence of the collective had been a mystery
Early Humans Reached Greek Island 200,000 Years Ago, Changing Picture of Spread From Africa
Nobody looked for Neanderthals or early Homo sapiens on islands because it was thought they weren’t seafaring – but back then, the Aegean wasn’t a sea
Prehistoric Downton Abbey: Bronze Age Germans Had Earliest Known Household Staff
The foreign brides imported en masse were also treated as elites, going by their grave goods, but they had lowly local staff buried with nothing
Bone Appétit : Early Humans in Israel Invented Food Storage 400,000 Years Ago, Scientists Find
Earliest sign of hunger anticipation? The hominins living in Qesem Cave in central Israel during the early Palaeolithic preserved marrow-rich bones of fallow deer
Gigantic Prehistoric City Found in Israel During Roadworks
En Esur, with its monumental temple and huge population, was vastly bigger than anything thought possible in the Southern Levant 5,000 years ago
Scientists Find Second Crocodile Species in New Guinea, Thought to Host Only One
Discovery based on skulls sitting in museum for 90 years
Assyrians Came, Conquered, and Kicked Everyone Out: Tablets Reveal 2,700-year-old Relocation
Cuneiform records show land sales 2,700 years ago in Hadid, central Israel, were made to people with entirely foreign names
Rise of Tyranny in Prehistoric Ukraine May Have Killed Off Its Mega-settlements
Over 6,000 years ago, hamlets in the Dnieper Valley coalesced to form giant settlements in which it seems democracy arose far earlier than in Greece - for awhile
Why Archaic Humans in Israel Collected Feathers 420,000 Years Ago
A swan wing found at Qesem Cave has marks that can only be from defeathering: Like among the ancient Owl People of Louisiana, feather-based ritual may have been a mark of respect, says Tel Aviv University’s Ran Barkai
Groundbreaking Israeli Research Reveals What Mysterious Denisovans Looked Like
DNA methylation data allows Israeli scientists to give illustrator a detailed list of the archaic human's characteristics
Archaeology Confirms Book of Genesis on Israel’s Arch-nemesis, the Edomites
Study of ancient copper production sites in the deserts of Israel and Jordan indicates that the nomadic Edomites could and did form a powerful political entity more than 3,000 years ago, as the Bible suggests
What Happened to the Unique Icelandic Walrus? The Vikings Ate It
The smoking harpoon behind the mysterious disappearance of the Icelandic walrus is the timing, archaeologists say: The unique pinniped vanished shortly after the Norse arrived
Archaeologists Find Mass Grave at Nazi Camp in Czech Republic
Remains of Romani adults and children dating back to 1943 were uncovered at the Lety concentration camp, the Museum of Romani Culture says
Neolithic Britons Ate Dairy 6,000 Years Ago, Fossil Tartar Shows
The earliest-ever direct evidence of milk consumption has been found, in Britain – though whether the Neolithic farmers could actually digest the dairy or were stoic about the results of eating it is not clear
Electrician Stops Car on Northern Israeli Road, Finds 4,500-year-old Dagger and Burial Vessels
The items had been in a burial cave dating to the middle Bronze Age
2,600-year-old Seal Bearing Hebrew Name Found at Western Wall in Jerusalem
The seal from Kingdom of Judea was discovered by a volunteer sifting dirt excavated in 2013 from beneath Robinson’s Arch
Ancient Tablets May Reveal What Destroyed Minoan Civilization
The Minoans and their capital Knossos weren’t incinerated by volcanic blast from Thera or flattened by quake as thought, but tellingly: their writing system changed.